Breathe
by ArtistKurai
Summary: The boys of Kurogin class 3D decide to skip out of math class. Nothing out of the ordinary. They find trouble, however, and it's not their usual kind of trouble.


A/N: I thought of this story one day in art history. The professor was showing a video on the Colosseum, which was set to the song Breathe by Switchfoot. That song inspired this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable.

Ba-bump...

Ba-bump...

Ba-bump...

Ba-bump...

That sound, the hammering of his heart, was all Yabuki Hayato could hear as he carried the limp body of his best friend out of the river.

Ba-bump...

Ba-bump...

"Come on, Ryu," begged Hayato. He laid Ryu down as soon as he felt the ground under his feet and began doing chest compressions. "Come on! Stay with me!" As he continued the compressions, images flooded Hayato's mind.

Images of violence, of fighting. Images of blood, more blood than there had ever been in a normal fight. Take unconscious... Tsucchi with a knife wound in his shoulder... Hyuga with a broken wrist... All five of them covered in bloody cuts and bruises... No! his mind screamed. Gotta focus! Gotta save Ryu!

This time, this fight, wasn't any ordinary fight. It wasn't a rival school who had a beef with the tough leaders of Kurogin Gakuen. It wasn't a gang of drop-outs and former Kurogin students. No, this time, their opponents were serious. This time, they were dangerous.

This time, they were killers.

Hardcore, seasoned criminals who took pleasure in slaughtering their victims mercilessly and wanted nothing more than to do it again. These were the men the Kurogin leaders had had to face.

It started as a normal day for the delinquent students. They were skipping class, as was their usual, particularly during math class. The guys loved their Yankumi, but one could only take so much of the bubbly, hyperactive yakuza woman for so long before needing a break.

As it happened, the group of friends had been on their way to their favorite ramen establishment when they bumped into a man. A rather large man with rather large muscles all over his rather tall body. "What are you looking at?" the intimidating man asked threateningly.

"N-n-no-nothing," Hayato was barely able to stammer out. Next to him, Takeda "Take" Keita and Hyuga Kosuke nodded with nervous smiles etched on their faces. Tsuchiya "Tsucchi" Hikaru stood in silent shock behind Hayato, and Odagiri Ryu just stood next to Hyuga with his normally impassive and uncaring expression in place, as if nothing were amiss. That's why Ryu was the one to notice what the others didn't see on the ground behind the muscular man before them.

Only Ryu noticed the three other men sitting in a circle around the body of a young woman. From what the redhead could tell, these men had beaten and violently ravaged the young woman before ending her life. He was thankful that he could keep his stoney and indifferent mask on his face, no matter what the situation was. "We're sorry," apologized Ryu, not letting on that he had seen what the men were doing. "We'll leave now." The thin boy bowed low and turned to lead his frightened comrades away from the scene, but a heavy hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks.

"I don't think so," said a deep voice. Ryu didn't need to turn around to know that it was the big man that had just questioned them. "You boys already know too much for us to let you go."

"We don't know anything," Ryu said calmly, trying to assure the men in a way that would allow them to be let free.

One of the men surrounding the dead woman stood to his feet and leveled a glare at Ryu. "If you've seen us," he sneered as he joined his sinewy partner, "you know too much." With a sinister smirk, the two men led their captives away from the scene, the other two of their group following at the rear.

As they walked to their unknown destination, Hayato and Ryu exchanged glances every now and then. They knew what each other was thinking: they were in danger and they had to find some way to get out fast! Hayato noticed that each of the guys would share glances every now and then, so he was able to formulate somewhat of a plan that would at least get them away from these thugs. The leader shared a glance with the other class leader and silently relayed his quick plan. By using quick glances and subtle lip movements, the boys of Kurogin were able to relay the escape plan to each other.

So when the group reached a clear enough spot to execute the plan, Hayato took his chance. "Now!" In an instant, the students dispersed into Formation B, darting between men and buildings to escape their captives. It was easy enough at first. Take was small enough to zip through closer spaces, and it helped that one of the taller thugs was chasing him. Hyuga had been able to outsmart his pursuer by jumping over crates and creating a barrier between them. Tsucchi used his long limbs and thin frame to his advantage to outrun the criminal on his trail.

Hayato and Ryu, however, had, for the most part, gone in the same direction, and they were currently being chased down by the muscular brute that they had initially bumped into. "What are we going to do?" asked Hayato. The boy had taken a quick glance behind him to see how close their pursuer was to them; unfortunately, he wasn't as far away as they would have liked.

Ryu, though, didn't give an answer. When Hayato turned his head to face his best friend, the redhead was on his phone. "My friends and I are being chased by murderers," he said into the phone. This led Hayato to assume his friend had called the police. "I don't know where the others are, but one of my friends and I are near the Shirokin temple and running away from town towards the river. Thanks." The red-haired boy didn't say anything else as he pocketed his phone. Once they reached the temple, the boys ducked behind the building where the big man couldn't see them. After they were sure the big man chasing them hadn't seen their hiding spot, Hayato and Ryu sneaked out of the temple and changed their route of escape.

After several minutes of running, the guys all assumed they had outrun their pursuers, so they all met up by the river beach where Hayato and Yankumi nearly had their fight. "Ah, that was scary," said Hyuga, who was doubled over and nearly gasping for breath. Tsucchi just laid sprawled out on the ground.

"I thought we were dead for sure," agreed Hayato. He looked over to Ryu, who was silent as usual and had a caring arm around a shaky Take. "Is Take okay?"

Ryu nodded. "He's a bit shaken up, but he'll be fine." He kept his arm around the scared boy as they all calmed their breathing and heart rates. "Maybe we should stay here for a short while so we don't accidentally run into those guys again," suggested Ryu. Just as he finished his sentence, though, a shadow fell over him and Take, and the other guys' eyes all widened in fear.

"Or you can stay here," said the large, sinewy leader of the murderous group of men, "and we'll find you on our own." Take was really shaking against Ryu now, and the latter tightened his protective hold on the smaller boy. "Who's first?"

Ryu turned his head closer to Take's, seemingly as a last attempt at comforting his friend. In actuality, though, Ryu was whispering quietly in Take's ear. "Go to Hayato. Call the police, then hide your phone in your pocket so they can hear me." Then silently and slowly, Ryu gently pushed Take in Hayato's direction. Hayato hugged Take to him, and Take slipped his phone out of his pocket and dialed the police behind Hayato's back before dropping the phone into Hayato's pocket. "We already told you we don't know anything," said Ryu. Before the eyes of his scared and silent friends, stone-faced Ryu knelt down on his knees and placed his hands on the ground in front of him. "We don't know anything, so please let us go. We won't tell anyone about anything that happened today. We promise. Please let us go!" As he lowered his head, Ryu was sure Take had started crying by now, if all the others weren't crying as well.

There was a moment of tense silence as the dangerous men considered Ryu's request before the extra large man gripped Ryu's collar and dragged him forcefully to his feet. "Sorry," the man said with fake remorse, "but that's not good enough for us." He slammed a fist into Ryu's face, throwing him to the ground. That's when the other men took their cue to pounce on the rest of the students.

The boys did a somewhat fair job of defending themselves for a while. Hayato noticed as he protected Take that Hyuga, Ryu, and Tsucchi had all managed to land at least a couple punches on their assailants. His attention was returned to his own fight, though, as the man in front of him and Take lunged to grab the smaller boy behind him. "No!" shouted Hayato, and he jumped between the man and his friend, securing a sure fist on the man's jaw before turning around and grabbing Take. "Don't worry, Take," Hayato whispered. "I'll protect you." Hayato knew he could only say this now because Take was scared out of his mind. Normally, Take wouldn't want to be coddled and protected so much, but in the state the boy was in now, Hayato knew he would need to be protected.

A flash of movement at the river's edge caught Hayato's eye, and he saw Ryu fighting back against the sinewy man they initially encountered. The attacker had laced a scarf around Ryu's neck and was holding it tightly as he punched Ryu repeatedly. Ryu was barely able to fight back, but he fought to get a few punches and kicks in and managed to squirm out of the scarf. "River beach!" the thin boy shouted at the top of his lungs between punches. "Shirokin river beach!"

Hayato wondered what Ryu was yelling about, but then he remembered Take dropping something into his pocket. It was his phone, he realized. Ryu must have told Take to call the police and leave his phone on so they could hear the fight.

Suddenly, Hayato's thoughts were interrupted by a strong grip on his jacket pulling him away from Take. "What's he yelling about?!" the man demanded. "What's he saying?" Hayato refused to answer, determined to protect his friend. "Oi, I think they called the cops!" the criminal yelled to his comrades.

There was a tense pause as the words registered in the big man's mind. He looked down to Ryu with death in his eyes, which Ryu returned with a passion. "Did you tell them to call the cops?" Ryu said nothing as he was hoisted roughly off the ground. "Did you!?" The only response was a defiant glare. "They called the cops!" This brought on another round of punches, kicks, slaps, and just over all violence. The students had a harder time defending themselves now that their opponents' rage had a new-found fury.

Hayato watched the fights with dismay and growing concern. He had been separated from Take, so the smaller boy had to defend against his own adversary, which worried Hayato. He tried to keep his eyes on each of his friends, but he kept getting distracted by his own opponent.

A few moments later, the blessed sound of sirens drew near. "Cops!" shouted the man beating Ryu. As the criminals scrambled to get away, Hayato turned his head to his best friend in time to see the muscled man hoist the boy up and, right before Hayato's eyes, Ryu was thrown into the river.

"Ryu!" shouted Hayato. As he rushed to get to Ryu, Hayato's eyes roved the scene of the fight. He noticed Take lying not far from where he had been dragged moments ago. The small boy wasn't moving and his eyes were closed, but Hayato could see his chest rising and falling with each breath he took. A look to Take's left showed Tsucchi lying next to him with his hand over his shoulder, trying to keep too much blood from flowing out of his body. Hayato hadn't seen any knives, but he assumed that that was where the gash came from. Not far from the river bank, Hyuga was curled up on his side, cradling the arm that was bent at an unnatural angle.

Though he was worried about his injured friends, the one who had been thrown into the river was Hayato's first priority. "Ryu!" he called out, hoping to see a head of thin, coppery hair come up out of the roiling water. Sure enough, about a hundred feet from where he had entered the water, Ryu's head popped up for a breath of air before being overtaken by the river. "Ryu, I'm coming!" After removing his shoes, Hayato jumped into the water and swam with all his might to save his friend. It was hard for Hayato to keep his head out of the water, but he was able to stay above the rapids well enough to get to Ryu. Once he reached him, Hayato's arms wrapped tightly around Ryu's waist. "I've got you, Ryu," he grunted with a mouth full of water. "I've got you." Now that he had Ryu, the dark haired boy turned and tried swimming in the direction of the bank, letting the water carry him closer and closer to dry land.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears and a certain relief coursed through Hayato once he felt the bottom of the river under his feet, and it increased as he regained his ability to stand, but now that they were back at the beach, a new fear gripped Hayato. Ryu's eyes were closed, his skin was deathly pale, and he wasn't breathing. "Come on, Ryu," begged Hayato. He laid Ryu down gently and began doing chest compressions. "Come on! Stay with me!" He took a quick glance around at his friends again; they were still lying as they were when Hayato jumped into the river. "Come on, Ryu, breathe for me." A hand on Ryu's chin held his mouth open and fingers pinched Ryu's nose as Hayato leaned over and breathed into Ryu's lungs. "Please, Ryu," he begged with another round of chest compressions. "Breathe, please." Hayato's lips closed over Ryu's as he filled his best friend's lungs with another breath. More compressions and a third breath followed, and Ryu still hadn't begun breathing on his own. "Don't leave me here, Ryu," Hayato cried, his tears mixing with the water dripping from his soaked hair. "You've got to come back. Don't leave me!" A fourth breath flowed from Hayato's lungs to Ryu's, and it carried all of Hayato's fear and hope for Ryu to come back to him. Just as Hayato was about to pull away and begin the compressions again, he felt Ryu shake and cough against his lips. "Ryu?" He cupped Ryu's cheeks in his hands, relieved beyond belief to see water dribbling from Ryu's lips as he coughed more of it out of his lungs. "Ryu, are you alright?" he asked as the boy lying next to him sucked in precious breaths of air. Ryu's eyes were glazed over, but it was beginning to fade and the color was coming back to his cheeks.

"What happened?" Ryu rasped, unable to speak above a faint whisper. His voice was so quiet, Hayato almost hadn't heard him.

"The cops came," he answered. "They got scared away, but the big one threw you into the river. I had to do CPR for nearly five minutes before you came back." Ryu's eyes rolled a bit as they closed and he nodded his head.

"The others?" he asked.

"Take's unconscious but otherwise alright. Tsucchi's shoulder is bleeding, and I think Hyuga's got a broken arm. You were the one in the worst condition because you weren't breathing."

Ryu's lips parted slightly. "Next time... I'll make sure not... to get thrown int- the river when it's... at its most rapid." The joke caused all the tension to flow away from Hayato, and he collapsed next to Ryu, still holding him closely. If Ryu could still be sarcastic after nearly drowning, he knew the boy would be alright.

As they lay there, Hayato faintly heard the sounds of an ambulance nearing them, but at the moment he didn't care. He opened his eyes to look at Ryu's face right next to his and reached down to grasp his hand. His best friend was still with him. That's all that mattered to him.


End file.
